Tuesday, August 31, 2004

In case you haven't heard, the Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, accused liberal financier George Soros of getting his money from drug cartels.

Josh Marshall is reporting that Hastert is continuing to repeat the charge to the media on the convention floor. In response, Soros has sent Hastert a letter asking for a public apology if he cannot back up the allegations. Marshall has a copy of the letter in his incomparable documents archive.

Reckless rhetoric from Mr. Speaker, who hasn't made many friends lately.

Read it and see if you can pick up on what's happening to our country:

The Swift Boat Veterans for Lies is but a tiny piece of a schematic Rove has been carrying in his head since his salad days in Texas. Bush’s Brain will die happy the day he achieves his two greatest goals. The first of these is to turn the U.S. into what is fundamentally a one-party system. Secondly, he wants the federal government to have so little money that it can do nothing to get in the way of business interests; nor will it be able to sustain any kind of socially progressive assistance for disadvantaged Americans.

Disdain for the ConstitutionMayor Giuliani routinely disregarded the First Amendment as he rejected requests for information from news organizations and civic groups and opposed public access to city hall steps and parks for demonstrations. "Freedom is about authority," Giuliani said, responding to critics in 1998. "Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do and how you do it." The following year, after the mayor cut funding to the Brooklyn Museum because it displayed a work of art that offended him, federal judge Nina Gershon ruled that Giuliani violated the First Amendment and ordered funding restored. "There is no federal constitutional issue more grave," she wrote, "than the effort by government officials to censor works of expression and to threaten the vitality of a major cultural institution as punishment for failing to abide by governmental demands for orthodoxy." Giuliani called Judge Gershon's decision "the usual knee-jerk reaction" and said he would order the city's lawyers to appeal.

Monday, August 30, 2004

Robert Novak is a Scumbag

Apparently the co-host of Crossfire's son, Alex Novak, is the Director of Marketing for Regnery Publishing. Of course, they're the ones responsible for publishing Unfit for Command, the source of the lies regarding John Kerry's Vietnam service aboard a swift boat.

"To announce that there should be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, it is not only unpatriotic and servile, but it is morally treasonable to the American people."

Today Scott McClellan went on the offensive against Ben Barnes for describing the "shame" he feels over helping President Bush duck service in Vietnam.

"It is not surprising coming from a longtime partisan Democrat," he said. "The allegation was discredited by the commanding officer. This was fully covered and addressed five years ago. It is nothing new."

It turns out that Barnes is such a down-the-line partisan that he supported Texas's Republican State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn for reelection in 2002.

Sunday, August 29, 2004

1984: This Thursday

Text of Apple's 1984 ad-"Today, we celebrate the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directives. We have created, for the first time in all history, a garden of pure ideology. Where each worker may bloom secure from the pests of contradictory and confusing truths. Our Unification of Thoughts is more powerful a weapon than any fleet or army on earth. We are one people, with one will, one resolve, one cause. Our enemies shall talk themselves to death and we will bury them with their own confusion. We shall prevail!"

Saturday, August 28, 2004

One of the 2,509 delegates to the Republican National Conventions has dropped out because of dissatisfaction with President Bush.

Congressional Quarterly reported Friday that after attending four previous conventions, Philadelphia's Jesse Walters was chosen as a delegate to this year's GOP convention in New York only to resign the position, saying he could not support Bush and expressing concern with the rightward move of the Republican Party.

Calling the decision to drop his position one of the five hardest he has had to make in his life, Walters said he plans to cast his first-ever vote for a Democrat for president in November.

Friday, August 27, 2004

A site that I don't visit, or link to, often enough is Slacktivist. The proprietor just posted on our President's recent interview with the Paper of Record. Enlightening to say the least.

Highlights (NYT Article text in italics):

On environmental issues, Mr. Bush appeared unfamiliar with an administration report delivered to Congress on Wednesday that indicated that emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases were the only likely explanation for global warming over the last three decades. Previously, Mr. Bush and other officials had emphasized uncertainties in understanding the causes and consequences of global warming.

The new report was signed by Mr. Bush's secretaries of energy and commerce and his science adviser. Asked why the administration had changed its position on what causes global warming, Mr. Bush replied, "Ah, we did? I don't think so."

Showing none of the alarm about the North's growing arsenal that he once voiced regularly about Iraq, he opened his palms and shrugged when an interviewer noted that new intelligence reports indicate that the North may now have the fuel to produce six or eight nuclear weapons.

He "opened his palms and shrugged." He shrugged. The strong, decisive, tough-on-terror leader man freaking shrugged.

President Bush wants to watch the Republican convention from a New York City firehouse and "bond" with the city's Bravest, officials said yesterday.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is also scouting out firehouses so he can watch it with the heroes of 9/11.

"Both Bush and Schwarzenegger want to bond with city firefighters," said one city official who asked not to be named...

Bush & Friends are trying to rekindle the emotion and popularity among citizens right after 9/11/01.

That may not be the best idea, especially if he brings Dennis Hastert with him:

New Yorkers yesterday slammed House Speaker Dennis Hastert for claiming the Big Apple was guilty of an "unseemly scramble" for cash after Sept. 11 — and one city councilman demanded he return his FDNY cap.

An article in the German Magazine, Der Spiegel details the IOC's amazement at the President's gall in using Olympic images in his campaign ads. One adverse effect:

...The controversy between the olympic and political powers is not one between equals. However the IOC possesses at least one indirect means of retribution. One IOC member had this to say regarding the competition to host the 2012 Olympics, which is to be decided in July of next year: "The chances of New York City to host the games were already not very good. Now they have dropped to near zero."

Thursday, August 26, 2004

When you realize you have forgotten to submit an order to the kitchen, go to the table and mournfully say, “Did you just hear that crash?” Nine times out of 10, the customers not only will say “yes,” but actually will believe they just heard a noise of some sort. You can then sigh sadly, and say, “Unfortunately, that was the chef dropping your food,” and then scurry back to the kitchen to hand in the neglected order.

Last night I took my 10 year old son to a MoveOn meeting in Center City Philadelphia. They are organizing a GOTV initiative called, "Leave No Voter Behind." Volunteers will canvas suburban neighborhoods and phone registered Dems and Independents to make sure they'll head to the polls on Election Day. In some cases we'll recruit new volunteers to spread the word about John Kerry in their neighborhoods.

We did a little role playing with the phone script and I shared mine with a guy sitting near me. We each took a turn being the caller and then they asked for two volunteers to do it in front of the entire group. (Did I mention there were about 250 people there?) My partner's hand shot up and we ended up doing it before everyone. We agreed I would be a difficult phone call recipient. I didn't disappoint. Took me back to my days in theatre. Fun.

Another enjoyable part of the evening was sharing it with my son. He knows how his parents feel about the, "Shrub" but we also talked about the importance of exercising our right to vote every chance we get and that people all over fight very hard for this right. It was a valuable experience for both of us, I look forward to him joining me on the 'campaign trail.'

It was inspiring to be around so many people who are united in their efforts to get Kerry elected. And I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner, as it's in my blood. When I was seven or eight I went with my mother to NOW marches where she was an active member. Before I was born she marched on the Papal Embassy in Washington in support of women's reproductive rights. She occasionally visits my blog and has even gone through my blogroll. Thanks for setting a great example.

The MoveOn meetings are being held all over the country. If you're interested, go here to find the closest organizational meeting.

An announcer fired by a minor league team for making a joke about Gov. James McGreevey's sexual orientation was rehired Thursday at the governor's urging.

Greg Maiuro lost his job with the Atlantic City Surf after dedicating the 1970s song "YMCA" to McGreevey during a game Aug. 17. The Village People hit is widely considered a gay anthem.

McGreevey -- who announced earlier this month that he is gay, had an affair with a man and plans to resign Nov. 15 -- urged the team to accept an apology and reinstate Maiuro "so we can move beyond this incident and get back to enjoying America's favorite pastime."

The RNC web site links to a story (look under: protesters supporting John Kerry) from the New Hampshire Union Leader about the perils facing delegates when they come to New York for the Republican National Convention. Included in the linked-to story:

NEXT WEEK, people who hate Republicans plan to release swarms of mice in New York City to terrorize delegates to the National Republican Convention.

Republican-haters plan on dressing up as RNC volunteers, and giving false directions to little blue hair ladies from Kansas, sending them into the sectors of New York City that are unfit for human habitation.

They plan on throwing pies and Lord knows what else at Republican visitors to the city. Prostitutes with AIDS plan to seduce Republican visitors, and discourage the use of condoms, according to liberal journalist Ted Rall...

Apparently there are some liberal blogs and web sites that are promoting the above information as proof that the GOP are idiots. Of course they are, but for a different reason. The "liberal journalist" mentioned above can be none other than the Ted Rall. Of course the name Ted Rall (emphasis above, mine) is synonymous with biting political cartoons that I'm sure you've seen.

The Union Leader printed this story in apparent seriousness and the GOP linked to it thinking it was something to be up in arms about. For Rall to get quoted as a journalist in this fashion is just as funny as one of his cartoons.

After much pressure from my legions of readers* I have posted a picture on my Blogger Profile page. The photo is from three years ago and was taken at The Home of Football within the N5 section of North London. It was after a Champions League game against Lyon, which the Gunners drew 1-1 on a last minute equalizer from the French side. The smile is of someone who's just achieved one of their longtime goals.

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

I'm Going To Stop Bashing Bush

Until tomorrow.

As I ready to watch John Kerry on the Daily Show I thought a break from Bush bashing would be in order. Sorry Hoges.

Onto football...

Tomorrow, Arsenal goes for it's 42nd consecutive Premiership match without a loss against Blackburn Rovers (with Yank Brad Friedel minding net.) This would be the longest such streak in the history of top-flight English football. The record tying game against Middlesbrough, this past Sunday, was tense for several different reasons. First, I purchased the Premiership season package from Comcast, knowing that they will usually air the weekend's best games. (One on Saturday and one on Sunday. Last year they only had Sunday games, it's more expensive this year but hey, it's football.) I tune in at 11am only to find that Comcast is having trouble with the Arsenal-Middlesbrough feed. Agonizing.

Which segues us into reason number two on the tensity scale. I followed the first half on the net (giving up on Comcast, they will be crediting me for that game, sunspots or not) which ended 1-1 with Thierry Henry tallying his first of the season. Not being able to take it, I went out to run some errands, after another half-an-hour Mrs. Horns calls to remind me that her satellite radio is hooked up in my truck (yes, we are a family of AV gadgets, a definite post for another time.) I pulled over and found the BBC broadcast (what sunspots?) only to hear Arsenal was winning 4-3, which isn't surprising. What was surprising was that they were down 3-1 just after the half. Three unanswered goals. Champion quality. I listened to the last 15 minutes in the mall parking lot with the volume cranked and me pacing outside. I didn't want the draw to equal Nottingham Forest's 41 match unbeaten run, I wanted the full three points to keep pace with Chelsea, who won the day prior. When Henry netted his second in minute 90' to seal it I did a brief celebration outside Target.

I did mind the BBC announcer saying over and over, "No matter what happens for the rest of this campaign every other game will be measured against this one." Thanks for reminding me, git.

It looks as though we finally have a culprit in the leak of CIA Agent Valerie Plame's identity. Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby is on the hook. Who's going down with him?

Josh Marshall presents us with a detailed analysis of where the Bush Administration went wrong and how Kerry can frame the campaign in his favor. Liberal excerpting ahead:

...Look at the wrong direction/right direction poll numbers and you see pretty clearly that the country is looking to fire George W. Bush. The president's only hope is to get the debate on to issues like these, shift the dynamic of the race, and convince voters that, whatever their dissatisfactions with his administration, John Kerry isn't an acceptable alternative.

When this stuff comes down the pike, Kerry has to fight back mercilessly. And he can win those fights. But, fundamentally, every day of this campaign that isn't spent talking about the sluggish economy and the president's debacle in Iraq is a day wasted, a strategic failure for the Kerry campaign.

But Democrats don't have to choose between hard-hitting lines of attack on the president himself and focusing on the main issues that are facing the country today. The most damning attacks turn out to be the most compelling, the most relevant for what the country faces, and the most difficult for the president to combat.

(...)

The current debate about these two men's military service has put the spotlight on physical courage. But that really is a side issue in this campaign, if we're talking substance. The real issue isn't physical bravery but moral cowardice.

President Bush is an examplar of that quality in spades. And it cuts directly to his failures as president. Forget about thirty years ago, just think about the last three years.

Before proceeding on to that, one other point about the two men's service. On the balance sheet of moral bravery, as opposed to physical bravery, the two men are about as far apart as you can be on Vietnam. On the one hand you have Kerry, who already had doubts about whether we should be fighting in Vietnam before he went, and put his life on the line anyway. On the other hand, you have George W. Bush who supported the war, which means he believed the goal was worth the cost in American lives. Only, not his life. He believed others should go; just not him. It's the story of his life.

That is almost the definition of moral cowardice.

(...)

The president didn't think he could convince the public of the merits of his reasons for going to war. So he lied to them. He greatly exaggerated what was thought to be the evidence of weapons of mass destruction and completely manufactured a connection between Iraq and al Qaida. He couldn't get the country behind him on the up-and-up. So he took the easy way out; he took a shortcut; he deceived them. And now the country is paying a terrible price for it.

He and his advisors knew that if they levelled with the public about the costs of war -- in dollars, years, soldiers -- he'd have a very hard time convincing them. So he didn't level with them. He took the easy way out.

The sort of forward planning that would have made a big difference in post-war Iraq was scuttled or attacked because it would make the job of selling the war harder. Those who sounded the alarm had their careers cut short.

Once we were in Iraq and it was clear that we had been wrong about the weapons of mass destruction -- a judgement that's been clear for more than a year -- he wouldn't admit it. And he still hasn't. A year and a half after we invaded Iraq and he still can't level with the American people about this. He still relies on his vice president to try to fool people into thinking Hussein was tied to al Qaida and the 9/11 attacks.

(...)

The same sort of moral cowardice that led him to support the Vietnam war but decide it wasn't for him, run companies into the ground and let others pay the bill, play gutter politics but run for the hills when someone asks him to say it to their face, those are the same qualities that led the president to lie the country into war, fail to prepare for the aftermath and then refuse to take responsibility for any of it when the bill started to come due.

That's the argument John Kerry needs to be making. And he needs to make it right now.

From at least early August, our prime minister in Iraq, former Baathist Iyad Allawi, has been calling the [chose one: young/ambitious/anti-American/fiery/rogue/radical/renegade/rebel/populist] cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his followers "outlaws." Strangely enough, so has our Secretary of State Colin Powell. It's lovely, isn't it, that Allawi and Powell not only see things in such an eye-to-eye way, but are coordinating in such a mouth-to-mouth manner, linguistically speaking. We know this is so, because translation from the Arabic never gets in the way. Allawi, a former exile who like many of his confreres in the "interim administration," has planted his roots abroad (not to speak of possessing a British passport), expresses himself regularly in English. In fact, as our nightly TV news so often makes clear, the PM gives numerous news conferences in English (as do others among his colleagues). This evidently seems so natural to our press corps in Baghdad that no one even thinks to comment on it. But for just a moment, imagine the unimaginable. The President of the United States steps to the podium to begin a White House press conference and launches into Arabic. Oh well, I know it's too ridiculous to consider. But it certainly tells us something about where Allawi's prime audience lies and where he is trying hardest to solidify his base. Perhaps one day someone in the press will find this curious enough to make something of it.

Monday, August 23, 2004

Business Week Onboard

Business Week is the latest to ask president Bush to denounce the 'Swift Boat' attacks on John Kerry:

...A nation has to honor its war veterans whatever their political party, while remaining realistic about the horrors of war. If some Americans do otherwise, all Americans are shamed. McCain has also called on Bush to denounce the attacks on Kerry and condemn that kind of low-life negative campaigning. It's time the President complied in no uncertain terms, and it's time he meant it.

Q Scott, subject once again, the Swift Boat ads, et cetera. You've seen the New York Times article this morning which gets into quite a lot of detail, and they allege that there's a web of connections to the Bush family and high-profile Texas figures and Karl Rove. So how can the White House say that there's no connection whatsoever between the campaign and White House and --

MR. McCLELLAN: We've already said we weren't involved in any way in these ads. We've made that clear. I do think that Senator Kerry losing his cool should not be an excuse for him to lash out at the President with false and baseless attacks. I mean, where has the Kerry been -- Kerry campaign been for the last year while more than $62 million in funding through these shadowy groups has been used to negatively attack the President. The Kerry campaign has been noticeably silent, and in many instances, they have actually fueled these kinds of attacks by these shadowy groups that are funded by unregulated soft money.

It's never about the message, it's always about the unregulated money and "shadowy groups". I wonder what would have happened if Clinton attacked Dole's record in 1988, saying he can't throw a grenade and didn't deserve a purple heart? There would have been, GOP fueled, national outrage.

..."There has been a lot of telephone traffic between the White House and Downing Street over the medal in recent week," the Sunday Mirror quoted a senior government source as saying.

"George Bush wants the prime minister to come to Washington and pick up the medal, which is the highest honour America can bestow on a foreigner.

"But he has refused for more than a year now and for good reason. He cannot possibly accept an award for the Iraq war when British and American troops continue to risk their lives there."

Mr Blair is concerned also that a trip to the US now would effectively be giving a boost to Bush ahead of November's presidential elections...

Ah yes, politics.

UPDATE: Thanks to Richard in the comments for sharing that the Congressional Medal of Honor only goes to members of the U.S. Military. It's been given out since 1861. Details on the medal here. That will teach me to believe what the U.K. Sunday Mirror prints. Murdoch.

Bob Herbert continues his look at the thuggish tactics of the Florida GOP. (The first two stories are covered here and here.) Today he has this unbelievable quote:

..."A Democrat can't win a statewide election in Florida without a high voter turnout - both at the polls and with absentee ballots - of African-Americans," said a man who is close to the Republican establishment in Florida but asked not to be identified. "It's no secret that the name of the game for Republicans is to restrain that turnout as much as possible. Black votes are Democratic votes, and there are a lot of them in Florida."...

The Orlando Sentinelreported on Friday that some lawmakers in FL have asked Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate the questioning of elderly black voters by armed, plain clothes State Police officers.

If this blows up in Jeb Bush's face and Florida goes, with the Presidency, to John Kerry I would love to be having Thanksgiving dinner this year with Jeb, Poppy Bush, Babs, George W. and Laura.

Saturday, August 21, 2004

Audacious

After denying that the Bush-Cheney Campaign was involved with ads paid for by The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth it's now come out that they're connected. Our President's minions are spinning lies faster than they can keep up with the old ones. What usually happens in this scenario is that you get bitten.

It makes sense for W. to use surrogates to do his fighting, just as he did when he slid out of Vietnam and just as he did when he sent our troops to fight his administration's misbegotten vanity war in Iraq.

The Kerry campaign has just come out with what I think is there best campaign ad to date. It's only on the internet right now, but I suspect that will change very soon as the reaction from the left (that I've seen) has been overwhelmingly positive.

Thanks to Zeke over at One Good Move for posting a smaller size file than you'll find at Kerry's site.

Bob Herbert, following up on his previous column, has more today on law enforcement going into the homes of people (Often elderly & African-American) to investigate voter fraud during the most recent Orlando mayoral election:

State officials have said that the investigation, which has already frightened many voters and intimidated elderly volunteers, is in response to allegations of voter fraud involving absentee ballots that came up during the Orlando mayoral election in March. But the department considered that matter closed last spring, according to a letter from the office of Guy Tunnell, the department's commissioner, to Lawson Lamar, the state attorney in Orlando, who would be responsible for any criminal prosecutions.

The letter, dated May 13, said:

"We received your package related to the allegations of voter fraud during the 2004 mayoral election. This dealt with the manner in which absentee ballots were either handled or collected by campaign staffers for Mayor Buddy Dyer. Since this matter involved an elected official, the allegations were forwarded to F.D.L.E.'s Executive Investigations in Tallahassee, Florida.

"The documents were reviewed by F.D.L.E., as well as the Florida Division of Elections. It was determined that there was no basis to support the allegations of election fraud concerning these absentee ballots. Since there is no evidence of criminal misconduct involving Mayor Dyer, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement considers this matter closed."

Then why are plain clothes State Police officers still visiting citizens?

Well, it's not closed. And department officials said yesterday that the letter sent out in May was never meant to indicate that the "entire" investigation was closed. Since the letter went out, state troopers have gone into the homes of 40 or 50 black voters, most of them elderly, in what the department describes as a criminal investigation. Many longtime Florida observers have said the use of state troopers for this type of investigation is extremely unusual, and it has caused a storm of controversy.

Oh.

State officials deny that their intent was to intimidate black voters. Mr. Tunnell, who was handpicked by Gov. Jeb Bush to head the Department of Law Enforcement, said in a statement yesterday: "Instead of having them come to the F.D.L.E. office, which may seem quite imposing, our agents felt it would be a more relaxed atmosphere if they visited the witnesses at their homes.''

Of course their goal isn't intimidation; its just a nice fringe benefit of visiting people in their homes while carrying firearms.

Thursday, August 19, 2004

I never thought the day would come that I could combine a post on Futbol & Politics. But we live in strange days. Indeed.

It turns out the Iraqi Olympic Team is taking exception to the fact that our President is using Iraqi & Afghan Olympic images in his campaign ads:

...Sadir had a message for U.S. president George W. Bush, who is using the Iraqi Olympic team in his latest re-election campaign advertisements.

In those spots, the flags of Iraq and Afghanistan appear as a narrator says, "At this Olympics there will be two more free nations -- and two fewer terrorist regimes."

"Iraq as a team does not want Mr. Bush to use us for the presidential campaign," Sadir told SI.com through a translator, speaking calmly and directly. "He can find another way to advertise himself."

Ahmed Manajid, who played as a midfielder on Wednesday, had an even stronger response when asked about Bush's TV advertisement. "How will he meet his god having slaughtered so many men and women?" Manajid told me. "He has committed so many crimes."

You'll remember a couple of days ago I posted a letter from a soldier in the Middle East that was sent to Danny Schechter at Media Channel. Mr. Schechter is also a filmmaker and author.

Well it turns out Dwayne has more to say and it's eye-opening to say the least. For purposes of context, I am going to post the entire text from the Media Channel blog:

What's it like for men in uniform? Little or the media coverage looks into this. That's why I invited Dwayne (who has given me his last name - though I decide to withhold it), the soldier who courageously wrote to us to tell us a little bit more about life in the Army of One. He writes:

I must begin with what I hope is a worthy submission somewhat off topic. I am a little upset by the fact that my comments were immediately believed to be some type of intentional governmental ambush, simply because I admitted that I am a soldier and the nature of my comments.
Understand this, simply because I am an enlisted soldier in the US military and do not posses a Bachelor's in anything that I, we (soldiers), do not ponder issues of politics with depth and intelligence. Make no mistake, we do. Many of us are articulate and can structure a sentence to some degree of "respectability"; we also know how to use a dictionary for the spellings that elude us.

Now having said that, I hope these comments are not mistaken for extremely petty anger on my part. I did not attempt to encourage, or engage, Mr. Schechter in any illegal activity. Also, I did not attempt to solicit any personal or sensitive information regarding him or his activities; I simply submitted my personal comments to him and I stated the reason why: "the ironic fact that I obtained EMBEDDED from my base library and am currently working my way through a damn good and informative book." Furthermore, I am the one that is waiting for the FBI's axe to drop on my neck because of the comments I submitted using their website terrorist tipline.

Late April, 2004:

As always, it's extremely early in the morning and we have already had an intense physical training session and are now crammed into a classroom, fighting off fatigue and nervousness. Today's task, we are about to learn, and practice, the important skills of ESCAPE & EVASION. For reasons I still do not understand, our briefing will conclude with a lecture by the Regimental chaplain, Captain "Y." For the moment, we quickly use grease pencils to scribble important training information on our laminated maps, code names for roads, final destination points and anything else we believe is relevant and can be used to our advantage; when the soldiers who will play the role of our enemy pursers catch us their treatment will be.... realistic.

Soon the Chaplain's assistant, Specialist "Z", enters the class. He comes bearing gifts of chocolate bars, bananas, apples and bottled water. Without question, we will need the energy and hydration they provide and these treats are quickly snatched up; goodies that a soldier can acquire without pulling money from our pockets always creates a frenzy.

Enter the Chaplain:

After a brief introduction, the chaplain proceeds to ask a few questions about faith, who believes (in God) and who does not. He also asks if the prospect of being a soldier, and possibly having to kill another human, is causing anyone a moral conflict. If so, the chaplain wants those who may be suffering a crisis of conscience to be comforted by the knowledge that "the Ten Commandments (God) does not say that killing is wrong, but that thou shall not murder." Yes, he said that, this representative of a God, a religion, supposedly of peace, love, kindness and generosity preaches that killing for a military goal is okay. To be honest, I was not shocked, but I do remember thinking about how people outside of the military would find the chaplains words of compassion extremely interesting. I furiously focused on my Snicker's bar and assorted goodies to prevent myself from responding and literally biting my tongue. I guess that's the true meaning of "praise the Lord and pass the ammunition."

...Over the last week or so, a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has been attacking me. Of course, this group isn’t interested in the truth – and they’re not telling the truth. They didn’t even exist until I won the nomination for president.

But here’s what you really need to know about them. They’re funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Republican contributor out of Texas. They’re a front for the Bush campaign. And the fact that the President won’t denounce what they’re up to tells you everything you need to know—he wants them to do his dirty work.

Thirty years ago, official Navy reports documented my service in Vietnam and awarded me the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. Thirty years ago, this was the plain truth. It still is. And I still carry the shrapnel in my leg from a wound in Vietnam.

As firefighters you risk your lives everyday. You know what it’s like to see the truth in the moment. You’re proud of what you’ve done—and so am I.

Of course, the President keeps telling people he would never question my service to our country. Instead, he watches as a Republican-funded attack group does just that. Well, if he wants to have a debate about our service in Vietnam, here is my answer: “Bring it on.”

I’m not going to let anyone question my commitment to defending America—then, now, or ever. And I’m not going to let anyone attack the sacrifice and courage of the men who saw battle with me.

And let me make this commitment today: their lies about my record will not stop me from fighting for jobs, health care, and our security – the issues that really matter to the American people...

From an 8/19 speech to the International Association of Fire Fighters.

This is nothing more than a chain yanker by the GOP. Dems have long written off Zell Miller as a DINO (Democrat in Name Only) and won't be too surprised by this announcement. The problem for the Republicans is that ploys like this is all they have, they have no major platform which can carry them to victory. Everyone who's going to vote for the President has their mind made up and the people who are undecided are that way for a reason.

...Suppose that some of the electors -- the people who under our constitutional system conduct the real presidential election some weeks after voters go to the polls -- aren't actually selected by the voters.

Impossible? Not if you give a close reading to the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Bush v. Gore, which finally settled the presidential election of 2000, if not to everyone's satisfaction. Under that decision, there is no guarantee that the electors who are decisive in choosing the next president of the United States will themselves be selected by the people of the United States. That's because the justices ruled in that case that state legislatures have unlimited authority to determine whether citizens in their respective states shall be allowed to vote for president at all.

"The individual citizen has no federal constitutional right to vote for electors for the President of the United States," the court said, "unless and until the state legislature chooses a statewide election as the means to implement its power to appoint members of the Electoral College."

Imagine, now, a state in which the same party controls both houses of the legislature and the governor's office. There would presumably be no partisan impediment to the state legislature, with the governor's approval, deciding that the majority party in state government shall control the state's electoral vote, regardless of any popular vote in the state. If the Supreme Court's declaration is an accurate statement of the law, there would not be any legal impediment either...

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Number Three

When the Baron Pierre de Coubertin drafted the Olympic Charter in 1894 (in French) I doubt very seriously, in his wildest nightmares, he thought he would see someone like Allen Iverson bask in what he hoped would be the quadrennial glow of amateurism.

Safe to say "The Answer" is the opposite of that.

(Thanks to Professor and Official Olympic Historian Dr. John Lucas for allowing me to remember all of the 'Baron's' info from his class, EXSCI 451 at Dear Old State.)

In his first game for the U.S. National Football Team Brian Ching netted the equalizer in the 89th minute to ensure the Yanks got a 1-1 draw in their crucial World Cup qualifying game against Jamaica. The fans were on their feet the entire game at the National Stadium in Kingston (nicknamed 'The Office') to try and cheer their Reggae Boys to a first win ever against the States. It wasn't to be.

Our lads play next against El Salvador on 9/4 in Foxboro MA in another important regional semifinal qualifying game. The top two teams advance to the final round of qualifying. More details here.

An unidentified supporter of President Bush tries to silence protester Kendra Lloyd-Knox (right) outside Southridge High School in Beaverton. Elsewhere in Portland, supporters of Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., rallied on the waterfront.

The thing that strikes me is the impassive smugness in the older woman's face. Kind of makes my skin crawl.

Reaganite Dick Wirthlin argues today in the New York Times that President Bush needs to take this rhetorical question off the table soon so Kerry doesn't use it later in the campaign. He thinks the Republican Convention would be a good place.

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Zell II - Republirat

You remember the picture of Zell "turncoat" Miller that I posted about a month back? Well it turns out the Red Wolf is handy with the Photoshop and has tweaked it a little for our enjoyment. Along with the picture is a paragraph that captures this piece of crap perfectly. Go. Read.

...And Bush certainly doesn't want to talk about the facts laid out by a Congressional Budget Office report on Friday that one-third of his tax cuts over the past three years went to people who earned an average of $1.2 million annually.

Households with incomes in the top 1 percent received an average tax cut of $78,460 this year. Households in the middle 20 percent -- they average about $57,000 a year -- received an average cut of $1,090. That is a 72 to 1 ratio in favor of the millionaires...

I am a soldier in the US Army. I want out of this nightmare, this emasculation of my humanity, my needs, my desires, the right to voice my opinion. Ironically, I obtained a copy of Embedded from my base library. I also just sent a letter to the FBI, via their webpage for submitting tips about possible terrorists, and informed them of my disgust about their interregation of people who intend to protest at the RNC in NYC. Please forgive any mispellings, I am typing this much quickly than normal; you guessed it, I am using a highly monitored computer. Fuck it, I don't care anymore.

...What happened over the weekend concerning the siege of Najaf and related struggles in other cities should serve as a reminder of just how ridiculous the situation has become. As in the spring, offensive operations against a private army in the control of a militant have started, stopped, started, and stopped again, while Americans have been getting killed under rules of engagement that prevent them from following their most basic imperative -- suppressing fire directed at them. Offensive operations have been halted at least twice while Americans were told that elements of the new Iraqi armed forces were on the way to finish the most sensitive part of the job, only to find out that no one was coming and that there were no orders to finish the job. Worse, this chaos has unfolded under circumstances in which it has appeared that the interim government of the US-installed prime minister, Ayad Allawi, was making decisions about the deployment and use of American soldiers, which is the last thing you would expect a right-wing US administration to tolerate. It is bad enough to have to pretend that Allawi's government is truly sovereign, but if this is how the relationship is supposed to work, it is already a failure...

I don't care what political party you belong to; there are no easy answers to this.

The Washington Post is accepting nominations for the best-politically oriented blogs.

We here at the original Uncle Horn Head feel it is kind of crass to blatantly lobby for nominations, particularly because there are somanyworthwhileblogsoutthere. Since bribes are out of the question and both of my readers are tremendously busy (Hi Mom & Dad!) it wouldn't be fair to take votes away from anyone else. But if you still enjoy the original content and have forgiven me for being a rat turd as a child then go ahead and nominate me. There are several categories including, original blog.

Mounting concerns over the war and the sluggish economy have sent President Bush's popularity plummeting among young adults in the past four months, complicating his bid for reelection and challenging Republicans to increase their efforts to win over new or lightly committed young voters.

Four years ago, network exit polls found that Bush and Democrat Al Gore split the vote of 18-to-29-year-olds, with Gore claiming 48 percent and Bush getting 46 percent -- the best showing by a Republican presidential candidate in more than a decade.

But that was then. In the latest Post-ABC News poll, taken immediately after the Democratic National Convention, Kerry led Bush 2 to 1 among registered voters younger than 30. Among older voters, the race was virtually tied. About 1 in 6 voters in 2000 was between 18 and 29 years old.

Responsibility for the 13-day detention of Chester County businessman Nick Berg prior to his kidnapping and murder in Iraq rests largely with U.S. authorities, U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.) said yesterday.

Gerlach, whose Sixth Congressional District includes the West Chester suburb where Berg lived, said it was "clear the Iraqi police were only going to hold Nick until such time as they were told by U.S. authorities that it was OK to release him."

"As to why there was that length of detention, and what could have been done to shorten it, that's a question that is still outstanding," he said.

Gerlach made his comments yesterday afternoon after a meeting with Defense Department officials that he had arranged for Berg's father, Michael.

The retired West Chester teacher had been pushing for a face-to-face accounting from Defense and other government officials since his son's detention in Iraq in the spring.

U.S. officials have repeatedly asserted that Iraqi police - not U.S. authorities - arrested and detained Nick Berg.

Michael Berg, in a telephone interview shortly after the hour-long meeting in Gerlach's office, termed the meeting largely unsatisfactory, because he felt that officials were playing "word games" over who had custody of his son - they continued to maintain Iraqi police were in charge, he said - and were unable to answer some of his questions.

But for one brief moment, Berg said, he felt something close to relief.

Across from Berg sat Lt. Col. Bill Kern, whom Gerlach's office had listed as head of the department's Criminal Investigation Command in Mosul, Iraq, while Nick Berg was detained.

During that time, Nick Berg missed his plane flight home, and violence in the country escalated. He was later kidnapped and beheaded by insurgents who posted a video of the slaying on a Web site.

Yesterday, Michael Berg looked Kern in the eye, he related later, and "I said: 'This illegal detention is what cost my son his life...' "

...Harkin also shot back at Cheney, who said in a visit to Iowa on Tuesday that presidential candidate John Kerry lacks a basic understanding of the war on terrorism and cannot make America safer.

He noted that Cheney had several student deferments that allowed him to skip serving in Vietnam.

"When I hear this coming from Dick Cheney, who was a coward, who would not serve during the Vietnam War, it makes my blood boil,' Harkin said. 'Those of us who served and those of us who went in the military don't like it when someone like a Dick Cheney comes out and he wants to be tough. Yeah, he'll be tough. He'll be tough with somebody else's blood, somebody else's kids. But not when it was his turn to go."...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 - April 21 was an unusually violent day in Iraq; 68 people died in a car bombing in Basra, among them 23 children. As the news went from bad to worse, President Bush took a tough line, vowing to a group of journalists, 'We're not going to cut and run while I'm in the Oval Office.'

On the same day, deep within the turgid pages of the Federal Register, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published a regulation that would forbid the public release of some data relating to unsafe motor vehicles, saying that publicizing the information would cause 'substantial competitive harm' to manufacturers.

As soon as the rule was published, consumer groups yelped in complaint, while the government responded that it was trying to balance the interests of consumers with the competitive needs of business. But hardly anyone else noticed, and that was hardly an isolated case...

(...)

Scott McClellan, the chief White House spokesman, said of the changes, "The president's common-sense policies reflect the values of America, whether it is cracking down on corporate wrongdoing or eliminating burdensome regulations to create jobs."...

My emphasis.

I suppose it would be considered common sense to Bush because he's taking care of his "base", you know, the people who give him money.

The New York Times with a story about the 4,000+ scientists, including 48 Nobel Prize winners who disagree with the Bush Administration's use of science:

...In the past, individual scientists and science organizations have occasionally piped up to oppose specific federal policies such as Ronald Reagan's Star Wars missile defense plan. But this is the first time that a broad spectrum of the scientific community has expressed opposition to a president's overall science policy...

There are several examples in the article of specific cases where the current Administration has misused or completely altered findings by the science world.

And let's not forget about an issue that did not appear in the aformentioned article. There was the little thing that had to do with the EPA declaring the air in Lower Manhattan safe one week after 9/11/01 when reliable information on air quality was not available. Investigations into this were quashed by the Congress.

UPDATE: This site gives One Thousand Reasons why voting for Bush is a bad idea. Complete with supporting links. (It's a book too!)

Friday, August 13, 2004

Thanks to California based Berry's World, for this tidbit from the Phillies broadcast tonight. From the TV Barn:

Probably just as well that this is the last “Audio Access” in-game chat of the season. As Comcast Cable was chatting with Phillies manager Larry Bowa between innings, a player stepped into what he thought was a private, discreet place and adjusted his crotch — liberally. Not only did the Philadelphia area see this, but everyone watching the game in high definition, including me, over the INHD channel.

For the record the Phillies lost tonight 16-6 giving up six home runs in the process. Including three by 76 year old J.T. Snow.

Perhaps the Fightin's would have better luck if their cups were rightside out from the start. And why is Bowa smiling?

Josh Marshall reminds us of the NH election day 2002 phone jamming case where a Republican funded company arranged , "...for a barrage of hang-up calls to phone banks doing get-out-the-vote work for the Dems, thus putting them out of commission for most of election day morning."

Two people connected to the case have pled guilty to Federal charges in the case but there is one more person the authorities are looking for...

Friend of Uncle Horns, Red Wolf, published this story at Axis of Logic detailing what must be one of millions of stories like it.

You don't think health care is an issue? Read it.

Red Wolf also keeps a blog called Politically Cherry from the compound in rural PA. Check it out and when you go, as Red Wolf says, 'skip the bullshit, and jump to the index. Unless you're into bullshit.' in referring to the introductory piece written about the site.

From Red Wolf's home page:

This site is dedicated to the memory of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman,
and Michael Schwerner, volunteer civil rights workers who were murdered
in Mississippi during the summer of 1964 while helping to register black voters.

From now on you'll be able to find Politically Cherry on the blogroll to your left.

Though not apologizing to their readers, the WaPo's Howard Kurtz says their paper could have done more to promote their questions about the march to war. Too often, stories questioning the validity of WMD claims were buried deep in the A section whille Adminstration assertions got top billing, above the fold.

This isn't the major mea culpa that the NY Times delivered a couple of months back but, for people who are critical of the media and their un-questioning practices, it's a start.

If you're as frustrated as I am regarding the current direction our country us headed I encourage you to read this post from Maryscott O'Connor. Excellent ammo for friends and family who are still planning on voting for Bush. Some good comments at the bottom of the page as well.

Sharing/Printing Tip: Highlight the entire story and copy to a word document. It prints wonderfully with all bullet points and indentations intact.

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Fuzzy Math: Taxpayer Rip-Off Edition

It looks like Dick Cheney's former company is at it again. According to recent audits Halliburton has, "...inadequately accounted for more that $1.8 billion of work in Iraq, representing 43 percent of the $4.2 billion that its subsidiary has billed so far for feeding and housing troops in Iraq and Kuwait."

The U.S. war on terrorism has wounded about 6,120 soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Washington Post said.

Many soldiers are treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where doctors have seen 3,358 soldiers from Operation Iraqi Freedom, including 741 battle casualties. The rest have suffered from non-combat conditions ranging from heat exhaustion to road accidents, the Post said.

A spokesman for Walter Reed said the hospital spent $42.3 million in fiscal 2003 treating wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan. In fiscal 2004, the cost has been $37.1 million, and that is expected to rise, the Post said.

..."I would say there's a much larger dose of partisan politics going on right now than there is worry about national security," said Goss, R-Sanibel. "But I would never take lightly a serious allegation backed up by evidence that there was a willful -- and I emphasize willful, inadvertent is something else -- willful disclosure, and I haven't seen any evidence."

Goss said he would act if he did have evidence of that sort.

"Somebody sends me a blue dress and some DNA, I'll have an investigation," Goss said...

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

I've just been alerted to the presence of MP3 Blogs through this piece. It features an excellent discussion of music (online and elsewhere.)

There are also a couple of mentions of the aforementioned movie starring John Cusack based on the book of the same name by English writer (and Arsenal devotee) Nick Hornby.

Look for an MP3 bloggers section to your left very soon.

UPDATE: Make that very very soon. I had a concern about the legality of downloading music but after leaving a comment at the diverse largehearted boy the proprietor emailed me back saying everything was on the up-and-up (at least on his site). So I downloaded a couple of live performances by Rufus Wainwright (Hallelujah and Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk) to get the ball rolling. And now I'm going to add a new blogroll section. Take a look at these sites. The majority of the music they are sharing are from little known artists who aren't beholden to Clear Channel, Infinity or Viacom. A refreshing change. And while you're at it take a look at WXPN, which is one of the best things about Philadelphia and one of the finest radio stations in the country.

A cool article from yesterday's U.K. Guardian about how corporations are utilizing the blogosphere to track how people are feeling about their products/brands and to give blog readers advance word of product launches to create a buzz. Sounds pretty savvy to me.

It would be a good idea for the canned meat company, SPAM, to partake in this. They must be hurting after their fine product's name was slapped on junk email. Has anyone ever done a brand study on this?

Florida Republican and Yale graduate Porter Goss was selected to be the new Head of the CIA pending Senate confirmation:

...Although administration officials have privately predicted that winning Senate confirmation for Goss would be little more than a formality, some Democrats have disagreed and predicted such hearings would assertively probe both the CIA's performance under Bush and Goss's fitness for the job...

And then there is this on the debate regarding last month's intelligence authoriaztion bill:

...The report on the bill by Goss's panel sharply criticized the CIA for "ignoring its core missional activities" and having "a dysfunctional denial of any need for corrective action."

In an unusually frank letter, (Former CIA Head, George) Tenet wrote Goss that his criticism was "ill informed" and "frankly absurd."

I wonder what this means for the 9/11 Commission's recommendation to have a single person head a single entity to oversee and share intelligence for all of the beauracracies?

Monday, August 09, 2004

...Keyes said Obama's vote against a bill that would have outlawed a form of late-term abortion denied unborn children of their equal rights. "I would still be picking cotton if the country's moral principles had not been shaped by the Declaration of Independence," Keyes said, according to the Associated Press. He said Obama "has broken and rejected those principles -- he has taken the slaveholder's position."...

I was looking around the web trying to find some good Alan Keyes quotes and was struck that he often sounds like Mike Tyson's manager in the late 80s/early 90s, Don King. Their polysyllabic worded rambling often leaves me seeking a Black Bush on the rocks.

I'll leave you with one last quote from Keyes speaking about Hillary Clinton running for a NY Senate seat a couple of years back:

“I deeply resent the destruction of federalism represented by Hillary Clinton's willingness to go into a state she doesn't even live in and pretend to represent people there, so I certainly wouldn't imitate it."

Interesting story yesterday in the Oregonian about the politics of the GOP financed Vietnam Vets smearing Kerry.

I'm not sure the Bush/Cheney campaign should continue to play this card when the President still has several unanswered questions about his own military service. I'd wager the Kerry campaign will not hesitate to make it an issue if the smears continue.

Sunday, August 08, 2004

Trading One Brutal Iraqi Regime for Another - Caution: Graphic Photo Follows Story

Things aren't improving. In fact, U.S. Troops may have taught their Iraqi replacements a thing or two:

The national guardsman peering through the long-range scope of his rifle was startled by what he saw unfolding in the walled compound below.

From his post several stories above ground level, he watched as men in plainclothes beat blindfolded and bound prisoners in the enclosed grounds of the Iraqi Interior Ministry.

He immediately radioed for help. Soon after, a team of Oregon Army National Guard soldiers swept into the yard and found dozens of Iraqi detainees who said they had been beaten, starved and deprived of water for three days.

In a nearby building, the soldiers counted dozens more prisoners and what appeared to be torture devices -- metal rods, rubber hoses, electrical wires and bottles of chemicals. Many of the Iraqis, including one identified as a 14-year-old boy, had fresh welts and bruises across their back and legs.

The soldiers disarmed the Iraqi jailers, moved the prisoners into the shade, released their handcuffs and administered first aid. Lt. Col. Daniel Hendrickson of Albany, Ore., the highest ranking American at the scene, radioed for instructions.

But in a move that frustrated and infuriated the guardsmen, Hendrickson's superior officers told him to return the prisoners to their abusers and immediately withdraw. It was June 29 -- Iraq's first official day as a sovereign country since the U.S.-led invasion.

Karl at Philly Future.org has added an aggregator to his site that tracks all of the recent posts from Philly area bloggers. This is in addition to the word press feature that allows anyone, after registering, to post at Philly Future.

In the unofficial start to the Premiership season Arsenal picked up right where they left off last year with a 3-1 win over Manchester United in the "competitive friendly" at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Arsenal were without Campbell, Vieira, Ljungberg & Pires. The latter with a slight muscle strain.

In a story you read about here a couple of months ago, it looks like the defense for Pfc. Lynndie England still wants to put Dick Cheney on the stand in England's trial stemming from abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq:

...Cheney was among a long wish-list of potential witnesses, which included many of the generals involved with the prison. Defense lawyers did not explain in open court Saturday why they want Cheney's testimony.

The hearing officer, Col. Denise Arn, said she will study the request but gave no indication when or how she might rule.

The hearing was adjourned, and Arn set no date for when it might resume. England's lawyers speculated that the hearing might reconvene in a month...

Again, it's doubtful this will happen. Although Colonel Arn might want to polish up her resume if she compels Cheney to testify.

Saturday, August 07, 2004

...Allawi announced that the Baghdad offices of Arab television station Al-Jazeera would be closed for 30 days. Officials say the broadcaster is guilty of inciting violence among the population.

Al-Jazeera officials say they're disappointed. "It's a regrettable decision, but Al-Jazeera will endeavour to cover the situation in Iraq as best we can within the constraints," the station's spokesman Jihad Ballout told the Associated Press.

Friday, August 06, 2004

Beach Pollution

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has just released their 2003 Beach Report that monitors pollution on our nation's shores. This year's report details a 51% jump in pollution related beach closings and advisories from 2002. Much of this increase reflects more sophisticated testing equipment that allow scientists to better monitor the source of the pollution. The majority of the beach closings and advisories in 2003 stemmed from fecal contamination. The source of this contamination is traced to eased sewage treatment laws for coastal development and industry in wetland areas.

And then there are the Beach Bums:

NRDC has listed the following beaches as "beach bums" because they are not regularly monitored for swimmer safety and have no program to notify the public if health standards are exceeded and have either known pollution sources near the beach or volunteer monitoring data showing high bacterial levels.

Thursday, August 05, 2004

Undecided Voters

It's come to my attention that several undecided voters have found their way here and I wanted to share some information that could help them form a concrete opinion.

First, I haven't heard much from the media about John Kerry's issues (except in very general terms) and what his plans are when he becomes President. Fortunately, this week he and John Edwards have published their positions entitled, Our Plan for America. The full 263 page report is available here. But I understand that not all of us have time to wade through a lengthy tome, so there is an overview document here that is much shorter. Kerry's website also provides position papers on various issues.

In the spirit of fairness, feel free to view the President's agenda on the issues to contrast the candidates' views.

But the President's agenda is only about a third of the story. Bush's Administration has been marred with scandal and controversy since election day in 2000. Several of these stories have received little if any coverage in the news media, which explains why they might not be familiar to the non-news-junkie (unlike myself.) The story is a bit shrill but I encourage you, the undecided voter, to read it and take the time to visit the links in the story which reinforce the main point.

The White House Press Gaggle was all over Press Secretary Scott McClellan today after John McCain's remarks about the campaign ad criticizing John Kerry's military service. McCain feels the Bush Administration should condemn the attack by the 527 group.

McClellan's response? Asking Kerry to join President Bush in not accepting money from 527 groups. He didn't address McCain's charges at all. SOP at the White House.

Scott McClellan felt so strongly about this that he referred to 527s as "shadowy groups" three times and uttered the term "soft money" eleven times during the press conference. Today's Gaggle lasted only eight minutes.